The 56-year-old -- currently chief marketing officer and a partner at Maitland ad agency Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown and Russell -- was one of the two finalists, say sources who asked to remain unnamed. Sain declines to comment.

The other finalist, say those close to the selection process, was William Hanbury, president and CEO at the Washington, D.C., Convention & Tourism Corp. When asked for comment, Hanbury replied by e-mail: "I am not a candidate for the Orlando CVB job."

Traveling men

Sain has had a lengthy career in the travel industry. He was vice president of sales and marketing for GES Exposition Services, a trade show marketing company; vice president of sales, marketing and passenger services for Premier Cruise Line; and assistant vice president of sales for Hyatt Hotels Corp. He also has held sales and marketing jobs with four other local hotel groups. Further, Sain has received many awards and is affiliated with several industry groups.

Hanbury, also 56, was president and CEO of the Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau for six years, followed by a brief stint at the Official Travel Information Co., a for-profit, Internet-based spinoff of the International Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus, which went out of business. He took the Washington job in 2001.

Hanbury is best known for developing the concept of convention centers selling their naming rights, as he did with Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee.

Negotiations under way

Central Florida's tourism industry has been buzzing with speculation about Peeper's replacement since the only man to ever hold that job announced June 23, 2006, that he was retiring.

Mark McHugh, the bureau's board chairman, convened a seven-person committee to hire a search firm, SearchWide, and look over the job candidates.

The committee narrowed the list -- to a reported six people -- on Dec. 19.

Last week, the committee met with those finalists, then whittled the group to two. The committee is reported to have begun employment negotiations this week with Sain, the only remaining finalist. McHugh, however, said as of Wednesday an offer had not been extended.

It could take several weeks before negotiations are done and an official announcement is made, says bureau spokeswoman Danielle Courtenay. "The process is more important than the timing," she says. "The pressure is to get the right person."

Critical decision

Peeper's replacement is "the most important choice in the short history of Central Florida tourism," says Abe Pizam, dean of the Rosen College of Hotel Management at the University of Central Florida. After all, he says, the new leader likely will chart the future of the industry for a decade or more.

Peeper leaves the $300,000 a year job just as a two-year, $68 million marketing campaign begins.

Also leaving is Jose Estorino, the bureau's marketing vice president, to start a business development firm in Hong Kong in February. Estorino reportedly was among the group short-listed by the committee before it was narrowed to Sain and Hanbury.

Pizam says the fact that Estorino didn't land in the top spot could mean the bureau wanted a fresh approach. "I interpret it as a reflection of whether or not they want to continue on the same path as they have previously," Pizam says.

Controversial hotelier Harris Rosen believes losing Estorino will prove an even more critical loss than Peeper in the long run, because the success of the bureau's new two-year marketing campaign is critical to the industry's well-being. "It's devastating news," says Rosen. "It could even be a mortal wound."

Meanwhile, the new bureau leader needs to combine the skills of a marketer and a politician, because the organization depends on local government funding, says Rich Maladecki, president of the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association. "Whoever it is has to spend an equal amount of time relating to both the travel industry and the community."

Bob Mervine can be reached at (407) 241-2888 or via e-mail at bmervine@bizjournals.com.

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